It would be better for your BP if you could get the humidity up to 60% min. Some people mist 2-3 times a day. If you got glass or plastic to close off about 50%-76% of the top of your tank, that would help, too, or you can soak the towel and wring it out good. However, the latter is just a temporary fix, and I personally hate to have to mist multiple times a day.
Another way to help is to get sphagnum moss, soak a couple of hands-full in warm water, then squeeze it out so it is just damp and put it in one of the hides.
Most people use an inch to two inches for substrate when using aspen.
Basking temp should be between 88 deg F and 95 deg F--yours could be a little higher.
Don't let it get below 78-80 deg F at night even on the cool side; during the day the ambient temp should be 80-85 deg F. If the temp drops below 78 and your BP has no warmer place to go, it can get a respiratory infection. So your minimum temp is 78 and your maximum is 95
My BP likes to climb; my DH made a branch go from one end of his enclosure to the other rising all the way. He loves it. You can sort of see him on his branch in my avatar pic, though it's pretty small. I'll post a pic at the bottom of this message if I can from this computer (no pics on this computer, and I'm not sure what I have on photobucket at the moment!).
Signs of shed: a pink belly is one early sign, oddly enough. Then they go blue--the most obvious symptom of going blue is the eyes get milky. Then they go clear again--and you begin to wonder what's going on. Generally during this time they stay in a hide a lot, especially in the damp hide. You might as well not try feeding them during this time, even after the eyes go clear again, as they really can't see well enough to strike properly and they can be a bit cranky during the shed cycle. Just be patient after the eyes go clear again--if your BP even comes out for you to see that has happened--a few days later, he'll shed. After he sheds, he'll come out--mine comes out the very next day, so I know to look for the shed AND to thaw out a rat!
Get a digital thermometer with two probes so you can put one in the basking spot and one in the cool zone. Put the probes where the snake would actually be--those stick-on thermometers that a lot of people put on the glass wall of a tank are measuring the temp of the glass right where the thermometer is stuck on. You especially want to know the temp right on top of your heat tape--if it gets above 95 deg F, you risk burning your BP's tender skin, which you don't want.
And the cheap dial humidity gauges (hygrometers) stick--I know, I have one! So get a good hygrometer; they give much more accurate readings.
Have fun with your BP, and welcome to the forum!
I'll also have to get a digital hydrometer, I just have a stick-on one right now. 
Linear Mode
